Cooling bed



Aug. 24, 1943. M. MORGAN COOLING BED I Filed June 20, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR MYLES MORGAN ATTORNEY Aug. 24, 1943. M. MORGAN 2,327,734

"cooLINe BED Filed June 20, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HYLES .MOR GAN BY fl wg Q41 ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 24, 1943 v COOLING BED Myles Morgan, Worcester, 'Mass assignor to Morgan Construction Company,

Worcester,

Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 20, 1940, Serial No. 341,532

1 Claim. (01. 80-42) This invention relates to cooling beds, andjmore particularly to apparatus for cooling hot metal bars delivered by a rolling mill. 1

One form of cooling bed incommon use comprises a run-on table having driven rollers which convey the stock in a longitudinal direction as it is delivered by the rolling mill, a series of racks extending at right angles with the stock, and mean to move the stock broadside alon the racks with a step-by-step movement. The racks contact with the stock at comparatively small localized areas, and the heat transfer. b conduction from the stock to the racks is comparatively rapid at these areas. As a result of the excessively rapid cooling atthe points of contact hard spots are often formed in the stock. This effect is particularly evident in the case of oer-'- tain alloy steels.

It is accordingly one object of the invention to overcome this difficulty and to provide a cooling bed which will allow the stock to cool gradually and uniformly, without forming hard spots therein. i

It is a further object of the invention to provide a cooling bed so constructed and arranged as to avoid excessively rapid cooling of. the stock in localized areas.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claim appended hereto.

Referring to the drawings illustratin one embodiment of the invention and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a cooling bed; and

Fig. 2 is a view in section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

The embodiment illustrated comprises a run-on table I having a. series of driven conveyor rolls 1 l to which the elongated hot metal bars are delivered longitudinally from a rolling mill. At one side of the table l0 and parallel therewith is a trough I2 into which the stock is deposited broadside by a suitable kick-off mechanism of Wellknown construction (not shown). A series of parallel stationary racks 14 extend laterally outward from the trough l2, the inner and outer ends of these racks'being supported on beams l 5 and I6 respectively. The racks M are formed with the usual spaced notches is (Fig. 2) in their upper surfaces.

In order to move the stock in a step-by-step manner along the racks M, a series of movable racks is are provided between the stationary racks, the movable racks likewise having the usual spaced notches in th'eir upper surfaces; As

each new bar of stock is deposited in the trough [2, the racks l9 are moved in a circular path to transfer the bar from the troughto the stationary racks and at the same time advance each of the previously delivered bars one notch along the stationary racks. For this purpose the movable racks [9 are connected by structural members or beams 22 and 23, which extend longitudinally of the cooling bed and beneath the racks. These beams 22 and 23 are connected by upright posts 24 and 25 respectively to a pair of crankshafts 28 and 21 therebeneath. Each crankshaft has a gear 29 thereon, and the gears are driven by a pinion 30 mounted on a main drive shaft 3 I. This main shaft is rotated at intervals to impart one complete revolution to the crankshafts 26 and 27. Adjacent the outer ends of the racks are the usual shuflie bars 33 arranged to be actuated by the eccentric shaft 34 and to transfer the bars broadside to the usual run-off table 35 with its driven rollers 36.

The apparatus as described above is all of wellknown construction and familiar to those skilled in the art. It has heretofore been the practice however to mount the cooling bed racks at right angles with the line of travel of the stock along the run-on table. Consequently as the stock is transferred broadside from notch to notch along the racks, the same localized portions of the hot bars are cooled by contact with the racks, and in many cases this produces hard spots in the bars.

In order to overcome this difiiculty the various parts are so constructed and arranged that different portions of the bars are in contact with the racks after each broadside movement. For this purpose the inner portions of the stationary racks M are mounted at an ablique angle with the line of travel of the stock along the run-on table, as shown in Fig. 1. Since the stock is moved along these racks in a direction at right angles with its length, it necessarily follows that as the bars are transferred from notch to notch the racks will engage different portions of the bars, and. the cooling efiect of the racks will not be applied continually to the same localized areas. Consequently no hard spots will be produced.

The stationary racks l4 may be oblique throughout their entire lengths, but by the time the stock has traveled half way across the bed it will usually have cooled sufficiently to avoid any further possibility of heardening by subsequent rapid cooling. Consequently the outer portions of the racks are shown arranged at right angles with the stock. The movable racks H! are in contact with the stock only during the carryover movement, which is a small part of the operating cycle, and they would probably produce no harmful localized cooling regardless of their shape. However, it is desirable to space the stationary racks rather closely to prevent sagging of the stock, and the movable racks are. preferably formed with oblique inner portions, as shown in Fig. 1, so that they will not interfere with the closely spaced stationary racks.

It will now be apparent that in the operation of the invention hot metal bars will be delivered 1011-.

gitudinally to the run-on table it and kicked off laterally to the trough [2. At the proper .times the shaft 3| will be rotated to impart one complete revolution to each crankshaft 2t and 21. L

This will move the racks 19 in a circular path, transferring the bar from the trough E2 to the stationary racks l4 and advancing each of the previously delivered bars one notch along the racks. The racks Will contact with different portions of the bars after each cycle until the bars have passed the oblique portions of the racks, and harmful localized cooling will be avoided. The

shufile bars 33 will be actuated at intervals to transfer the cooled bars broadside to th run-off table 35.

Having thus described my invention, what I 7 faces arranged to support the bars substan-- tially horizontally with the 1 bars extending across the racks and at oblique angles therewith,

a series of movable racks located between the stationary racks and parallel therewith,

the movable racks having notches in their upper surfaces, and means to actuate the movable racks in such a manner as to advance the bars along the stationary racks from one set of notches to another with a step-by-step movement in a direction at right angles with the bars and at oblique angles with the movable racks and the stationary racks, whereby different points on the bars will be in contact with the stationary racks after each such advancing step. v

MYLES MORGAN. 

